Asia Ready To Send Peacekeeping Force In Lebanon
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent Jakarta, Indonesia (AHN) - The governments of Indonesia and Malaysia have expressed their readiness to send peacekeeping troops as part of UN deployment to the Middle East as Asian countries are showing growing concern in the region and urged the international community to act swiftly. With the ferocious bombings of Israel of Lebanon entering its second week, Asian countries have warned that violence in the Middle East could spiral out of control if world powers fails to check the conflict. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told UN Secretary Kofi Annan his government's concern over the conflict and pledge Jakarta's troops are ready for deployment there. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, has no diplomatic ties with Israel. Predominantly Muslim Malaysia and current chair of the Organization of the Islamic Conference said it was also considering sending troops under the UN peacekeeping force. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar added, "The international community ... should make every effort to ensure that these aggressive military actions by Israel do not lead to a widening of the conflict involving other countries." Asian newspaper editorials also called for the international community to act swiftly to prevent an escalation. Japan's most-read paper, the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun, commented, "Bef |
